The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1887-07-21
Root Development.

them grow, as the majority of them
surely will.
Root Development.
To show the importance Of shallow
cultivation and of not cutting the roots,
we give the following observation by
Prof. Thurman, of the Alabama Exper.
iment Station, on the length and distribu'
tion of roots of corn and cotton
CORN ROOTS.
By means of hose with a nozzle,
which gave spray in imitation of rain
fall, the soil was gently washed away
from the roots of corn and cotton plants,
leaving the entire root surface exposed to
view.
A ditch was dug entirely around the
plants at distance thought to be beyond
the extremities Of the roots. From this
another ditch was dug, giving sufficient
fall for The ready conveyance Of the water
and the soil which it removed. The first
specimen was corn plant eight inches
in height from the surface of the soil to
the top of the bud leaf The roots of
this little plant were found to occupy an
area of thirty.six square feet. The
longest root taken up was four feet one
inch. One was found to have penetrated
to the depth Of twenty three inches,
gradually descending through nine inch.
es of soil 10 the tough clay subsoil, into
which latter it penetrated vertically
fourteen inches. 1t reached the clay at
the distance Of nearly three feet from
the plant. The position of the roots in
the soil was such that a plough run four
inches deep with foot of the stalk would
have deprived the plant of more than
three. .fourths of its root surface. The
seminal roots started from the base of
the stalk two inches from the surface of
the soil and gradually descending until
they reached the clay at two or three feet
from the stalk. The coronal roots radi-
ated from the stalk at depth of one
inch from the surface Of the soil and de.
sceuded more rapidly than the seminal
as rule, but some of them continued
throughout their entire length within
three inches of the surface. Quite a
number of the roots penetrated the SUBJ
soil (which was nine inches below the
surface) from two to three inches, and
after entering continued at that depth
for the remainder of their growth.
What has been said relates to the main
lateral roots which radiate from the base
of the stem. From these multitude of
sub laterals radisted, filling the soil with
their rapacious absorbing surfaces.
These commenced within few inches of
the stalk and covered the mains to with.
in six or eight inches Of the advancing
end, the newly formed part of which
had not yet put forth the sublaterals. 1t
is surprising that the yield ofcoru should
be reduced as much as four bushels per
acre by injudicious ploughing?
COTTON ROOTS.
In June last a cotton plant 81 inches
in height was washed up as described for
the corn plant. The plant was just in
the condition in which many planters
"bar off, previous to "chopping."
The longest root found was three feet
four inches, the end of the root being
three inches below the surface of the
soil.
1t seems the utmost folly to cultivate
the cotton plant in such manner as to cut
off three feet of its roots on either side,
creating the necessity for an entire re.
establishment of its avenues of commu-
nicatiou with its sources of supply. Two
months after planting, when the plant
was two feet in height and just COM
menciug to bloom, another plant was
made the subject of investigation. A
circular ditch was FIRST dug six feet from
the plant aud the soil gently washed
from the roots, resulting in the removing
of large portion Of the root surface Of
the plant. The longest root, when
stretched to its full leugtb, was just six
feet. It's extremity in its natural position
was five fee. one inch from the stalk.
The position of the roots in the soil
varied according to the point from which
they left the tap root. Some of the
longest left the tap root at one and one
and half to two inches from tia sur.
face of the soil and gradually descended,
reaching the clay sub soil at from three
to four feet from the plant. Several en-
tered the clay three inches and continued
at that depth. The tap root oescenoeo
vertically to the depth of twelve inches,
three inches into the sub-soil, and then
pursued horizontal course at that depth.
The usual deep cultivation with scooter
and scrape or solid sweep would have de.
stroyed four-ffths Of the lateral roots
which extended at right augles to the
row. The plant was cultivated entirely
with the hoe up to the time of its remov.
al. 1t was planted in garden soil-sandy
drift filled with water-worn pebble-soil
nine inches deep with tough, yellow clay
sub SOIL"